Search engines are commonly used to search the information available on computer networks such as the World Wide Web to enable users to locate information of interest that is stored within the network. To use a search engine, a user typically enters one or more search terms that the search engine uses to generate a listing of information, such as web pages, that the user is then able to access and utilize. The information resulting from the search is commonly identified as a result of an association that is established between the information and one or more of the search terms entered by the user. Different search engines use different techniques to associate information with search terms and to identify related information. These search engines also use different techniques to provide the identified information to the user. Accordingly, the likelihood of information being found as a result of a search varies depending upon the search engine used to perform the search.
This uncertainty is of particular concern to web page operators that make information available on the World Wide Web. In this setting, there are often several web page operators that are competing for the same group of potential views or customers. Accordingly, a web page's ability to be identified as the result of a search is often important to the success of a web page. Therefore, web page operators often seek to increase the likelihood that their web page will be seen as the result of a search.
One type of search engine that provides web page operators with a more predictable method of being seen as the result of a search is a “pay for performance” arrangement where web pages are displayed based at least in part upon a monetary sum that the web page owner has agreed to pay to the search engine operator. The web page operator agrees to pay an amount of money, commonly referred to as the bid amount, in exchange for a particular position in a set of search results that is generated in response to a user's input of a search term. A higher bid amount will result in a more prominent placement in a set of search results. Thus, a web page operator may attempt to place high bids on one or more search terms to increase the likelihood that their web page will be seen as a result of a search for that term. However, there are many similar search terms, and it is difficult for a web page operator to bid on every potentially relevant search term. Likewise, it is unlikely that a bid will be made on every search term. Accordingly, a search engine operator may not receive any revenue from searches performed using certain search terms for which there are no bids.
In addition, because the number of existing web pages is ever increasing, it is becoming more difficult for a user to find relevant search results. The difficulty of obtaining relevant search results is further increased because of the search engine's dependency on the search terms entered by the user. The search results that a user receives are directly dependent upon the search terms that the user enters. The entry of one search term may not result in relevant search results, while the entry of only a slightly different search term can result in relevant search results. Accordingly, the selection of search terms is often an important part of the search process. However, current search engines do not enable a search engine operator to provide specific search terms, such as those that will produce relevant search results, to a user. A system that overcomes these deficiencies is needed.